In this modern era, every business owner surely has company information systems and data that must be safeguarded. However, data security can be threatened by unexpected disasters such as natural disasters, cyberattacks, and sudden power outages. Therefore, it is crucial for business owners to know how to develop a Disaster Recovery Plan to secure all critical data they possess.
Disaster Recovery Plan or DRP itself is one useful way to prevent data loss in a company’s information systems. Additionally, this strategy is also useful to facilitate all work related to the company’s information systems and networks in the future.
Let’s Understand What a Disaster Recovery Plan (DRP) Is!
A Disaster Recovery Plan is a detailed plan on how to deal with and mitigate incidents or disasters that disrupt business operations. Business operations here mainly refer to the information systems and critical data within them.
The DRP will be developed in the form of steps or instructions tailored to the type of disaster that occurs. So, the Disaster Recovery Plan is a strategy created to prevent and minimize the effects and losses caused by specific disasters. Thus, business operations can continue smoothly without interruption.
Companies with a DRP will undoubtedly be considered as professional and have high integrity. The reason is that DRP greatly helps companies in maintaining and improving the quality of service. This will be highly beneficial because consumers will then have high loyalty to the company.
7 Steps to Develop a Disaster Recovery Plan
Creating a Disaster Recovery Plan cannot be done carelessly or hastily. It requires carefully planned and wise steps. Did you know that according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), 40-60% of companies affected by disasters never reopen their businesses?
So, to prevent the collapse of your company and its inability to recover, developing a DRP is crucial. Here are the steps to creating a disaster planning that you must know to maintain business operations:
- Conduct Risk Analysis: In developing a disaster recovery plan, the first step you should take is to conduct a risk analysis. This analysis should be comprehensive for the company’s information systems, networks, and computers. Identify every gap and worst-case scenario that could occur if the company’s information systems and data experience a disaster. Also, remember to conduct a risk analysis for unintended or uncontrollable disasters such as fires or natural disasters.
- Develop an Emergency Response Plan: The next equally important step in developing a DRP is to create an emergency response plan. Make a list of decisions about what critical aspects should be prioritized during a disaster or unwanted event. These decisions are useful for preventing the loss of assets, inventory, and important company properties. Also, determine the protocols and authorized parties to execute this emergency response plan. Ensure that the IT team is also involved in the development and implementation of this plan.
- Review Business Insurance: A highly beneficial way to maintain company operations is through business insurance coverage. It’s important to note that not all insurance services will help if a company experiences a disaster. So, make sure to review the insurance purchased for the company. Find out if the insurance provider will cover losses in case of a disaster or unwanted event.
- Establish an Efficient Communication Strategy: When a disaster or damage occurs to the company’s information systems and data, you must have an efficient communication strategy. This strategy is useful for ensuring smooth communication between you, employees, and consumers. Identify media that can be easily used in emergencies, such as social media for consumers and internal bulletins for employees. Don’t forget to gather and backup important contacts such as key clients and customers, insurance agents, retailers, and others.
- Backup All Company Information and Data: Creating duplicates or backups of all company information and data, including how to develop a Disaster Recovery Plan, is crucial. This information may include important documents and data, contracts, company records, and much more. Ensure that this information is stored off-site, such as in the cloud. Ensure the company has a cloud exchange service useful for storing large amounts of data and ensuring its security. For those unfamiliar with this technology, contact Indonet directly. You will be assisted in using cloud exchange for the protection of the company’s information systems and data.
- Allocate Budget Based on Analysis: The next step in developing a Disaster Recovery Plan is to allocate a budget based on the analysis conducted. This budget includes the costs needed to reduce the impact of losses during a disaster. It should be noted that the budget for disaster recovery planning usually varies according to the company’s scale and its systems. However, the generally given cost when a disaster occurs in a company’s information system is 2%-15% of the total IT budget.
- Provide Loss Reports: Finally, when the company experiences a disaster in its information systems and data, create reports on all forms of losses. These reports should be comprehensive and cover various aspects. So, you should also consider the losses that consumers may also experience. The existence of loss reports will help company operations to continue running smoothly without hindrance.
The seven ways to develop a Disaster Recovery Plan or DRP will be highly beneficial in maintaining the security and stability of the company. Make sure not to overlook any steps because each step above is interconnected. If you can implement the seven methods above effectively, then you can minimize the risk of losses in the company when a disaster occurs.
Create your DRP now and safeguard the security of your company’s information systems together with Indonet!
As explained above, to develop Disaster Recovery Planning, there are several aspects and continuous steps involved. One crucial step in maintaining the security of information systems is by backing up company data using the cloud.
Indonet, a leading IT company, offers Colocation services that can be used as a Data Center or Disaster Recovery Center (DRC). Additionally, Indonet also provides DRC on Cloud options in collaboration with Alibaba Cloud as the Main Distributor in Indonesia. Thus, Indonet delivers reliable and trustworthy Cloud services, supported by global technology and experienced local support. With this combination, customers can obtain effective and efficient solutions for their IT needs, both in terms of data storage and disaster recovery.